AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hexagram 61 of the I Ching is composed of two yin (or "broken") lines sandwiched between a quartet of yang (or "solid") lines, giving the impression of a hollowed-out center. Benebell Wen's commentary notes: "One is faced with an equal and opposing adversary. This is a war between equals. There is currently a … Continue reading Hollow in the Middle: A Mid-Course Correction Spread
Metaphysical Syncretism
Synchronizing the “Inner” and the “Outer” Self: A Tarot Mandala
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not proposing this as a spread for divination but rather as a tool (a form of mandala) for meditation. It could, however, be used as a "birth-chart" for the moment of the pull and supplemented over time with additional cards that function like astrological transits to a natal horoscope. One possible way … Continue reading Synchronizing the “Inner” and the “Outer” Self: A Tarot Mandala
The Case for Esoteric Syncretism
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley went to great lengths (15 pages) to relate a number of primitive cultural rites to his understanding of the Fool, with much of his inspiration coming from Sir James George Frazer's anthropological tome, The Golden Bough. This conceptual melding is known as syncretism, and as one … Continue reading The Case for Esoteric Syncretism
Syncretic Methods: Tarot + I Ching Hexagram Casting
AUTHOR'S NOTE: <Summons his best Dick Nixon monotone> "Let me make one thing perfectly clear" (as if you couldn't tell): I'm no fan of metaphysically "squishy" modes of divination, an attitude that encompasses most purely intuitive forms of interpretation. I like having a firm philosophical basis from which to proceed by applying inspiration, imagination and … Continue reading Syncretic Methods: Tarot + I Ching Hexagram Casting
Connecting the Dots: An I Ching/ Oracle Card/Tarot Card Triplet
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A few of years ago I came across a table of correspondences created by a couple of Russians that links the 64 I Ching hexagrams to the 78 tarot cards in a way that nobody else has done. Their website has been taken down, so I was fortunate to have saved a copy … Continue reading Connecting the Dots: An I Ching/ Oracle Card/Tarot Card Triplet
Personalizing Taoist Cosmology: Natal Planets and the Five Agents of Change
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a previous post I explored the Taoist "Five Agents of Change" (Wu Xing) as encompassed by the twin cycles of creation and destruction in the order Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water. I decided to take the Minor Arcana cards associated with the five personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars) of my natal horoscope and … Continue reading Personalizing Taoist Cosmology: Natal Planets and the Five Agents of Change
Syncretism Unbound: The Octile Horoscope and the Trigrams
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been reading about the origins of the esoteric alignment between the 12-year Chinese zodiac/calendar and the eight trigrams of the I Ching, and I was struck by the notion that - with twelve "branches" and only eight trigrams resulting in an apparent ideological disconnect - there may be a more symmetrical formulation. … Continue reading Syncretism Unbound: The Octile Horoscope and the Trigrams
